COBRA is the law that lets you keep your employer's group health coverage after the job ends — for a price, for a limited time. It's one of the most-searched health insurance topics and a reliable exam cluster. Here's the mechanics, the timelines everyone forgets, and the California extras.
What COBRA does
When you lose group health coverage due to a "qualifying event" — job loss, reduced hours, divorce, a dependent aging out — COBRA gives you (and covered dependents) the right to continue the same group coverage, paying the full premium yourself plus an administrative fee (up to 102%).
Key features:
- Same plan, same coverage — not a substitute product; you keep exactly what you had
- Election window: 60 days from notice or loss of coverage (whichever is later)
- Coverage is retroactive — elect on day 60 and you owe premiums back to the loss date, but everything since then was covered
The timelines — where the exam lives
COBRA's durations are the most-tested numbers in the cluster:
| Qualifying event | Max continuation | | --- | --- | | Termination (not gross misconduct) or reduced hours | 18 months | | Divorce/legal separation, Medicare entitlement of employee, death of employee | 36 months | | Disability extension (SSA-disabled during first 60 days of COBRA) | 29 months (18 + 11) | | Second qualifying event during 18-month period (e.g., divorce) | 36 months total |
The pattern: employment-based events get 18 months; family-based events get 36; disability adds 11 (18→29); a second event during the first period extends the family clock to 36. If you memorize one ladder: 18 → 29 (disability) → 36 (second event/death/divorce).
Who pays, and when it ends
- Full cost to the continuation enrollee — employee share + employer share + up to 2% admin (up to 50% during the disability extension). The sticker shock is the point: you were probably never seeing the real premium.
- Coverage ends early at: premium non-payment (after the grace period), the employer dropping group coverage entirely, the beneficiary becoming entitled to Medicare, or new group coverage without a pre-existing-condition limitation.
- COBRA is not a lifetime solution — it's a bridge, priced like a bridge that's on fire.
COBRA vs. individual coverage
The practical point the exam occasionally folds in: the 60-day election window runs in parallel with the special enrollment period for ACA marketplace plans. Since COBRA is full-price group coverage, an ACA plan (with subsidies, if eligible) is often cheaper — you can decline COBRA entirely and take marketplace coverage instead. Once you elect COBRA, though, you generally must exhaust it (or hit another qualifying event) before marketplace special enrollment reopens.
California layer
California runs its own continuation rules alongside COBRA — Cal-COBRA — which matters for employees of small employers (below the federal COBRA size threshold): California-style continuation extends similar rights to groups federal COBRA doesn't reach, with its own duration rules (commonly 36 months). The exam's state-specific slice also covers how these programs interact for California residents. Drill the California versions here: CA-specific health regulation questions →.
Frequently asked questions
How long does COBRA last after quitting?
Up to 18 months for the former employee (and covered family members) after termination or reduced hours — extended to 29 with an SSA disability determination during the first 60 days, or to 36 if a second qualifying event (divorce, death) strikes during the initial period.
Do I have to elect COBRA immediately?
No — you have 60 days, and coverage is retroactive to the loss date if you elect late. This creates the free-look effect many people use: wait out the 60 days uninsured-but-eligible, electing only if a claim actually materializes. (Risky, legal.)
Can my ex-spouse stay on my health plan through COBRA?
Yes — divorce is a qualifying event giving the ex-spouse (and dependent children) up to 36 months of continuation coverage, independent of the employee's own coverage.
Is COBRA better than an ACA marketplace plan?
Depends on price. COBRA keeps your exact plan and network at full cost; ACA plans can be subsidized based on income. Compare both inside the 60-day window — you can decline COBRA and take marketplace coverage, but going the other direction later is harder. More health-coverage practice: Accident & Health Concepts →